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Chautauqua 2013 - American Legends

June 17-20 at 7 p.m. Nightly
AB Tech – Ferguson Auditorium

American Legends will be held June 17-20 in Ferguson Auditorium at AB Tech in Asheville. This year’s Buncombe County Chautauqua gives voice to four American Legends. Meet ordinary citizens turned hero who spin their own tales, telling the truth as they see it. These four defiant Americans challenged the status quo and crusaded against injustice: Davy Crockett, Susan B. Anthony, Herman Melville and Malcolm X.

Monday, June 17
Susan B. Anthony - The disenfranchised spinster who challenged the law of the land. Her greatest moment of notoriety came when she went to her local polling place in Rochester, NY and cast her ballot in the 1872 Presidential Election. It was illegal for women to vote at the time so she was arrested and jailed. At her trial, she was found guilty and fined $100. Refusing to pay the fine, she declared, “I shall never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty.” That fine remains unpaid still.

Tuesday, June 18
Herman Melville - The whale ship deckhand whose voyages became world classics. Melville wrote without apology about what he called “the meanest mariners, renegades and castaways,” not about “the dignity of kings and robes, but of the dignity that comes from work.” He encapsulated the American legend with simplicity by stating, “We are not a nation, so much as a world.”

Wednesday, June 19
Malcolm X - The ghetto hustler turned human rights activist and martyr. His was the classic hero’s journey starting with a dream bathed in tenets of anger, fostering Black independence on the shoulders of retaliatory separation. His journey ended with the acceptance of a unified brotherhood and a nagging thirst for international equality.

Thursday, June 20
Davy Crockett - The backwoods frontiersman who almost became President. The legend of Davy Crockett was forged in flesh and blood by a uniquely American character born in Tennessee on what was the western frontier of the US in the early 1800s. A skilled hunter and outdoorsman with a quick wit, his larger-than-life persona became his ticket to celebrity and political success.

The Chautauqua format will be familiar to those who have attended in the past. Each evening, a scholar dressed in costume will bring the character to life through a first person monologue. The audience will then have a chance to question the character, delving more deeply into the issues that have been raised.

The replies will be historically authentic, based on research using letters, diaries, journals, and published writings. Finally, the scholar will step out of character to discuss the subject and answer questions from a critical, modern perspective.

Please plan to join us each evening in our indoor venue, Ferguson Auditorium at AB Tech. A musical program will begin each evening at 7 p.m. followed by the featured program at 7:30 p.m.

There is a suggested donation of $4 per night or $12 for the four-night series.

Thursday, June 20 at 7 p.m.
The Doghouse Band
Davy Crockett, portrayed by Larry Bounds

Chautauqua “American Legends” Historical Interpreters Bios

Marjorie Goldman (Susan B. Anthony) has been a free-lance theater artist for 20 years—acting, teaching and directing. She has a master’s degree in American Studies and taught U.S. history at the high school and university levels. Much of her work has been in educational outreach theater, bringing plays and programs of social importance to audiences of all ages. She has portrayed Susan B. Anthony in such places as Mt. Vernon and the National Archives. Marjorie is also a part-time resident of Rochester, NY, where she is a certified docent at the National Susan B. Anthony Museum and House.

Darrick Johnson (Malcolm X) is an actor, playwright, poet and author who uses creative arts to enlighten, educate and entertain. A former US Marine and professional boxer, he’s the artistic director of “By any Means Edu-tainment,” and has written, directed and starred in “In the Name of Love,” and “Same Goal Different View.” His career as Malcolm X started in 2007 in the stage play, “The Meeting.” Darrick was honored to perform as Malcolm X at his annual birthday celebration at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem, NY in “Tribute to Malcolm X”.

Larry Bounds (Davy Crockett) is a National Board certified public school educator and teaches at Wade Hampton High School in Greenville. A well-seasoned performer, Larry has appeared on stages across the country since the early ‘70s as professional magician Larry Crystal. For eight years he was a featured performer for Ripley’s Believe It or Not! In the 90’s he recreated an authentic Civil War era magic show for the Museum of East Tennessee History. Larry performs in Chautauqua as Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, Harry Houdini, Ambrose Bierce and General Wade Hampton, III. He will premier as Davy Crockett at Chautauqua 2013.

George Frein (Herman Melville) holds a PhD in philosophy & religion, and has performed nationally as a Chautauqua historical interpreter for 25 years. He has the incredible capacity to perform as ten different
historical figures: Mark Twain, Father de Smet, John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, John J. Audubon, John Winthrop, Charles Wilson Peale, Dr. Seuss, Carl Jung and Herman Melville. George is founder of the National Chautauqua Tour & Artistic Director of Greenville Chautauqua.

For more information, call Pack Memorial Library at 250-4700 or email library@buncombecounty.org. Chautauqua 2013 is sponsored by the Friends of Buncombe County Public Libraries, Inc.